Understanding
by SweetMissEmi
Summary: After years of criss-crossing the globe since his involvement in bringing down Andromeda, Jason Whittaker visits Monica Stone.
1. Chapter 1

Desolate grayness surrounded her. Would she ever find release from this horrid place? Day after day, the cold cell mocked her good intentions. She'd only wanted to help her brother. She'd been deceived, chosen the wrong path, and ended up _here._ Monica heaved a sigh. She would be paying for her actions longer still. "If only" plagued her thoughts, constantly.

Voices down the corridor yanked her back to reality. Her eyes focused on the door to the cell. Likely the voices would pass right by. No one ever came to visit her—further proof that no one actually cared about her. Suddenly, she sat up taller. One of the people speaking sounded familiar. And with a gasp, she realized who that voice belonged to. _It couldn't be!_ No, absolutely not. They never actually let the visitors back to the cells. But he had his connections. Monica tried to compose herself, but her nerves were suddenly on edge. She _must_ act nonchalant.

"Hi, Monica. Long time no see," he said with that positively irksome and infectious grin of his. One eyebrow lifted. A blush crept up her cheeks. "Hello, yourself," she replied. "Though, I have to say, it wasn't by _my_ choice."

He winced slightly and laughed a little, "Touché. I see you still get right to the point. Look, Monica, I wanted to come sooner, but circumstances prevented me from coming." She glanced away. She didn't want excuses; if he had truly cared, he'd have come. "Monica, I know I've hurt you. I don't want to excuse my not coming—I did make the choice to go back to the agency, and leave this area. Leave you. But I didn't trust those missions to other people. The peace of the lives of the ones I love was at stake."

"That's the Jason I know. Always rushing off to madly save the world from the big, evil bad guys," Monica said, trying to play it off. "Including from me," she added, with a soft, regretful sigh." He shifted. "Jason, I know you didn't have a choice. You tried to help me see the light, but I was just so blinded by trying to save the day in my own little world, that I couldn't see you trying to save, well, _me."_

Jason reached through the bars on the door and took her hand. "Through the last couple of years, I've learned a few things. I almost got lost in the labyrinth, myself. Trying to be the hero. That's when I got out, came back to Odyssey. And I knew I had to come see you. To tell you that I…understand, now. And I'm sorry." His face softened.

Monica choked back tears. She hadn't expected this. Hadn't ever wanted anyone to even come close to the mistakes she'd made, least of all, Jason. Hearing the vulnerability in his voice let her know how close he'd come to being lost. She squeezed his hand. "Apology accepted." She let go, and let his hand fall back to his side of the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Jason let his hand dangle by his side. He gripped the bars on the door with the other. He searched her face, her eyes. They reflected sincerity and something else—sorrow. She was upset that he had almost dropped to that level. He shut his eyes tight. Knowing how close he'd been to crossing the point of no return…it still filled him with a dull ache. Knowing that she'd had to cross it—felt like she'd had to enter the labyrinth, like she'd had no choice made his heart feel ripped in two. That Monica had had to carry the burden of doing wrong in order to do what she thought was right ate at him.

"Thank you," he said softly. The two of them stood there in the cool grayness for several minutes without saying anything. Then, Jason straightened up. "Monica, although coming to…just see you, and to apologize were my chief priority, I also came for another reason. Actually, I ended up delaying my coming to see you for a couple of months because of it."

She didn't say anything, just looked at him. He could see it in her face. She was afraid to hope for good news. He hated that the isolation had done this to her. "Monica, I talked to the judge and some of the officers involved in your case, as well as the wardens here. You've never given them an ounce of trouble, worked with the prosecutors on the case against Andromeda, and are very repentant of your role in what could have happened. Your not knowing the ultimate plan helps. They have agreed to give you the option for parole when you finish out your 8th year at the end of the month.

A slow smile crept over his face as her mouth dropped open. Monica stared at him, speechless. He watched emotions play over her features. He had to admit, he was shocked that the dealings had gone this well. He'd expected them to want to hold her a few more years, maybe until the 10 year mark to give her a parole. But they had pulled up the case files and saw that while her case was high-profile, and the crimes many, she'd really been little more than a manipulative to Andromeda. And the results were favorable. Monica would be released in 3 weeks on highly-restricted parole.


	3. Chapter 3

Monica struggled to find words, her eyes searching his face. Finally, she spoke. "Jason—how? _Why?_ After all this time?"

"Well, going back to my days as an agent, I have some pretty strong connections. Using some of Dad's helped, too, and between them all, we pulled enough strings for a review of your case. They agreed that while the charges stand, a highly restricted parole was a possibility. Your prison record was looked at, and, seeing no negative comments, they agreed to allow parole on the anniversary of your 8th year," Jason replied.

He gripped the bars on the door. Monica saw that there was an internal struggle over the next question. Jason sighed. "As to the why…Monica, I really do care about you. And Duncan. I think you need to repair your relationship with your brother, and the only way to do that is to get you out of here."

Monica felt something crumble inside her heart. While she was glad to hear that she cared about her and her relationship with Duncan, she'd hoped for another reason to bring him here after all of this time. "Thanks, Jason. I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you've done—what you're doing for Duncan and me. I miss him," she admitted. Still, she couldn't keep tears from forming in her eyes.

Jason reached through the door again to grab her hand. "Oh, Monica…" he trailed off, "Monica, I wasn't going to say this." He pulled his hand back and jammed both of his hands into his hair. He paced back and forth in front of the cell, then turned abruptly back to the door. "I started the whole process by going to talk to Duncan," he paused, "because I needed to find someone that missed you as much as I did," he said quietly. "You see, I had my own selfish purpose for getting you paroled. I wanted to see you free again, to see if there was any way…any way that you and I could explore what might have been." He ran his hands down his face.

Monica sat down. Though it was what she wanted to hear, it still shocked her to her core. He wanted her. She wanted him. But she was so unworthy of anyone's love, much less Jason's. Especially God's. She'd turned her problems over to Him years ago, but still felt lacking. She didn't deserve mercy, didn't deserve a second chance. It was all too good to be true, in her opinion. "Jason, I-I don't know what to say. I have to admit, I've thought about you a lot. Regretted hurting you, betraying you. Worried about what you might be doing out there," she let out a strangled laugh, "you always did put the world ahead of yourself—something I've always both admired and feared. I did what I did for Duncan out of guilt and desperation, and love, too, I hope. But you've always put yourself in danger, simply because it is right." She stood back up and ran her fingers over the door. "You're the bravest man I know," she said quietly.


	4. Chapter 4

Jason's heart pounded when she said those words. Sometimes he felt more foolish than brave. Hearing that she thought he was brave was like a salve to his heart. Maybe there was hope for him after all. Suddenly, the warden came back around the corner.

"Time's up! You can come back another day if you like, Mr. Whittaker, but your visit for today is over," the warden said formally.

Jason turned to Monica and grasped her hand one more time. "I'll come back tomorrow. And every day until they release you, if it's possible—and it would take something extreme to make it _im_possible. You have my word."

Monica's hand tightened on his. "I know. Good-bye, Jason. Thanks for—everything."

With that, Jason and the warden walked back down the hall. Jason turned back just before they rounded the corner, and caught a glimpse of Monica's face, just as a tear rolled down her cheek. He wanted to run back to her and smooth it away, but he couldn't. So, he turned and walked back down the hall, leaving his heart behind him.

Mr. Charles stomped around his cell. So, Mr. High-And-Mighty Whittaker had gotten a parole for Monica Stone. And _he_ was still stuck here. Without any parole option, since the imbecile of a warden and that FBI agent wannabe had shredded his plan. He recalled Monica's words about Jason maybe being in love with her when she was masquerading as Paula Jarvis. _But love was blind, _he thought. Jason hadn't seen through Monica until the very end, until it was too late.

Mr. Charles began to concoct a plan. Jason had been deceived by her once. Now, it was time for him to be "deceived" once again—just without Monica's knowing it.


	5. Chapter 5

Jason whistled as he unlocked the door to J&amp;J Antiques and walked into the quaint, cozy shop. And stopped short. Jason couldn't believe the setting before him. The shop was mostly serene—except for the shattered jewelry display case. Jason wasted no time in making his way to the case. Within the shards, resting atop a selection of antique rings was a succinct message that shocked him to the core.

The edges of the white paper fluttered as the bold type of the note taunted him. Sheep's Clothing. It seemed impossible that those two words could evoke myriad words in memories. Jason felt himself drifting back to a night, years ago, in a quaint cabin in Alaska. Monica was there, helping him with the dishes. He felt like he might be falling for her, and wanted nothing more than to pull her in his arms and kissing the living daylights out of her. But Walter, the pest, kept coming in and out of the room. Later, after Monica had left, Jason had noticed a ring left behind. It had lain innocently on the counter. Little had Jason known that that simple ring would turn out to be the sheep's clothing of a wolfish homing device.

A knock at the door brought Jason from his reverie. He spun around to see Eugene on the other side of the door, and motioned him in. "Hi, Jason, I just came by to install an update on the softwa—What happened?!" Eugene cried.

"Looks like someone wanted to leave me a message," Jason said, gesturing toward the note in the case. Eugene slowly came forward and read the message.

"Sheep's Clothing? What kind of threat is that supposed to convey?" Eugene questioned.

"I think someone was trying to get me to remember an incident that occurred in Alaska during the days when Andromeda was still at large. Do you remember Monica Stone?"

"Of course! She was the red-headed young woman that often dealt with espionage—and also did frequent field work for Bennett Charles." Eugene answered, "As I recall, she not only planted a secret modem at Whit's End, tapped my phone, rammed her car into Whit's, but also had something to do with you, am I correct?"  
"You are correct. But you should also remember that she was a pawn in the larger game. She was in the scheme to do what she could to help her brother. Not that that makes breaking the law right, but she had a heavy load to carry. She acted as Charles' wolf in sheep's clothing, which I believe the note is referring to," Jason explained.

"Are you sure? Why Monica directly, and why would someone write you a note, and put it in a _ring_ case now?" Eugene asked.

"I've been working on getting Monica paroled. In fact, she will be in a few weeks. She knows what she did was wrong, and she's repentant. I hope she can get out and find some relief from the guilt of what she did to cause her brother's condition." Jason answered. He thought about the placement of the note some more. "I think the person who did this chose the ring case for one or two reasons. One, Monica had given me a ring that was a homing beacon at one time, and two, I, uh, kind of got a little romantically entangled with her. Or would have."

"What are you going to do about it? Are you going to involve the police?" Eugene queried.

"I think I will, because the break-in happened to Jack and Joanne's store, and it's not my property. Plus, I'm done chasing this sort of thing. I retired. I think I'll let Detective Polehaus handle it." Jason replied, whipping his phone out of his pocket. He quickly found the detective's name and hit "call".


End file.
